Penrhyn Castle

There has been a mansion on the site of Penrhyn Castle since the 14th century. The original medieval fortified manor house was rebuilt as a Gothic mansion around 1782 by Samuel Wyatt for Richard Pennant (1737 – 1808), 1st Baron Penrhyn of Louth, who amassed his fortune from Caribbean sugar interests and the slate quarry in Bethesda. The estate was inherited by Pennant’s second cousin George Hay Dawkins-Pennant (1763 – 1840), who again had the house rebuilt, this time as a lavishly vast mock Norman castle. The main phase of construction took place from 1820 to 1837 under the direction of architect Thomas Hopper. Although most of Wyatt’s structure was demolished to make way for the enormous fantasy castle, its great hall was integrated into the new mansion’s drawing room. The Grade I listed castle and its grounds passed into the hands of the National Trust in 1951.

I’ve been there many times and until not all that long ago photography was not permitted inside. I’d always thought that those lamps would make an intriguing subject and so had to get a shot on my recent visit.